Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts

Child decides not to attend college, can I stop child support

You would need to seek a modification, in order to change your child support payments. The court is not bound by what is in your divorce agreement, in my opinion. One question the court would have is "What is your daughter planning to do with her life, if she is not going to college?"

When was your child support order put in place, and when was it last modified? Are you currently paying an amount determined by the "guidelines"? These are important questions that weigh in on your case.

If you are paying according to the guidelines, then your income is the only relevant figure that goes into the calculations, so your new spouse's income is not relevant.

You would be advised to carefully consider the timing of when you bring the action. For example, if you go to court now, and your ex-spouse states that your daughter is planning to go to college, then what? Will you have to go back to court at a later time? The judge might say that you have already argued this issue once, and may refuse to hear it argued again....

This message is provided to assist you in structuring your thoughts when you speak with an attorney about your situation. I am not your attorney, and you are not my client, so this is not legal advice. Legal advice can only be given after a careful interview of the client by the attorney, and I have not had the opportunity to understand the significant issues that I must understand to render legal advice. You should contact an attorney in your state to discuss your situation. That attorney can give you the advice that your situation deserves, after carefully considering the issues that are legally significant in your situation.

Emancipation and new wife lease to new life

The age of majority is 18, but emancipation depends -- for all intents and purposes -- on whether the child goes on to become a full-time student at college. If the child is a FTS, then child support continues. If the child is a PART-time student, it depends on the judge. It also -- again depending on the judge -- depends on your divorce decress or "separation agreement." Technically the law began: "it was the intention of the arents to have the child go to college." The permutations from that have been remarkable. Even when the parents' agreement showed NO intentions or NO thought whatsoever to the subject, the judges automatically ASSUMED they would have wanted the child to go to college. So as the decisions have evolved, emancipation is now 18 + 4 years of college. Some have allowed the kids to pop in and out of college like jumping beans. So it's best to assume, you pay unless the child goes to college. You might want to go in and ask the court for a declaration of emancipation if the child goes off to work. Then your ex-wife cannot come after you for arrearages -- which she might do, particularly if she is bonkers or even pretend-bonkers-professional-victim type. Judges are fearful of doing anything definitive when faced with the latter type of woman in front of their bench.

As to the income and assets of your spouse-to-be: they should not matter, but the fact that your lifestyle will be in better shape, you never know. In the divorce court and particularly the child-support arene, nothing is certain, i.e., wholly predictable. So in sum, I would say get the declaration from court.

The other attys answering this will give you more ideas the thesum of their experience and knowledge. All of our experiences have differed . . . because we have all been in front of different judges from time to time with cases with different focuses. Listen to them all.

One last thing. You should also speak to the FAMILY SERVICE OFFICE, which is responsible for the wage assignment and/or the Department of Revenue. They have you on their books. You must make sure they have you OFF their books!

Child Support Regulations in Masachusetts

There are two ways to terminate child support in this situation: motion or newcomplaint. In theory, you only need a motion since you are not trying to change thejudgment, merely enforcing it. Some judges will not allow this to occur by motion, theyinsist that it occur by complaint for modification. A motion can be heard by the courtin a month or two. A complaint must go to a full trial. Depending on the county, thiscould take six months or more. Both methods have the same danger: your ex-wifewill enroll your daughter in a community college and she will pretend to go to school.At the beginning of the summer, it is difficult to predict if your daughter will go toschool in the fall when she can sign up on the first day of classes at some schools. Ifyou go to court and do not obtain a modification, you can assume that your ex-wifewill seek an increase in child support based on the current child support formula. Ifyour daughter is 18, does not attend post-high school education, and is not disabled,you can expect the child support to terminate as ordered in the divorce decree. If youhave a new spouse, she has the legal obligation to support you. Her income andassets do not directly impact your payments to support your daughter but if she hasenough income to support you, then more of your income can be used to support yourdaughter. This is a complicated matter and you should consult an attorney.